New operator of Aussie TV to be decided soon

New operator of Aussie TV to be decided soon

By Peter Kerr

JAKARTA (JP): A new operator to re-establish an Australian
satellite television service to Indonesia and the rest of Asia is
expected to be decided within days.

A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
said final talks with the proposed new provider had been held
this week and a decision was imminent, with the new service
likely to be running within about a month.

Australia's only satellite television presence in Asia and the
Pacific ended abruptly at midnight on March 23 after the former
provider, the Seven Network, decided it was losing too much
money.

Seven had teamed with Australia's multicultural broadcaster
SBS as one of six tenderers for a replacement service, but pulled
out shortly before its Australia Television International (ATVI)
shut down.

Downer's spokesman said on Friday that the government had held
talks with the next best tenderer over the past few days and a
proposal had just been finalized.

The government has said it will provide up to A$75 million
(US$36.5 million) over five years to ensure an Australian
television service is maintained in the Asia-Pacific region.

Late last month it also urgently approved A$600,000 in extra
funds to ensure that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
international radio service, which leased satellite transponder
capacity from ATVI, would not be hampered.

ATVI has had a difficult time since it was launched by the
government-owned ABC in 1993.

With a satellite service spanning from India to Beijing to
Western Samoa, it was envisaged as the region's pre-eminent
service, to rival the BBC World Service.

But it accumulated A$7.3 million in losses in its first three
years, and was sold to Seven after a government inquiry.

Seven's chairman Kerry Stokes initially predicted strong
growth in "the world's fastest-growing economic region", but
there were increasing concerns at Seven after the 1997 economic
collapse.

There were also complaints from supporters of the ABC, under
which ATVI pushed a strong news and current affairs platform,
that Seven was more interested in light entertainment and
lifestyle programs.

Last month Downer expressed his disappointment that Seven had
withdrawn as a tenderer for the new service.

The government "continues to believe that it is in the
national interest that there should be an Australian television
service in the region, projecting modern and informative images
of Australia", he said.

There were similar words when ABC radio got its extra $600,000
last month, and when the government last year reversed its
controversial decision to drastically pare back the ABC's Radio
Australia.

Foremost in the minds of government ministers has been
regional instability, especially in Indonesia, and the ability to
continue broadcasting Australian news and current affairs to
defense personnel in East Timor.

Announcing a $9 million boost over three years for Radio
Australia last August, after a public outcry over the downsizing
plans, Downer and Communications Minister Richard Alston said:
"Recent events have highlighted the value of Australia's
international broadcasting activities in conveying accurate news
and information to the region, as well as providing an Australian
perspective."

ABC sources were reported at the time as saying the extra $9
million would help increase Radio Australia's Bahasa Indonesia
broadcasts to Indonesia from about three hours a day to up to
eight hours a day.